CashFreely Review: 4 Things To Know About the Credit Card App

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Are you new to credit card rewards or trying to figure out how to make the most of the rewards programs you have?

CashFreely is a free app that helps beginners get started maximizing their credit card rewards. It even has a few features that more experienced credit card rewards enthusiasts may enjoy as well.

For this review, I downloaded the CashFreely app on an Apple device to get the experience firsthand. In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the app before you decide whether you should download it.


Table of Contents


What Is CashFreely and How Does It Work?

CashFreely is a free app designed to help users get started with earning and optimizing credit card rewards.

It is available for download on Apple devices via the App Store and on Android devices via Google Play. The app has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on each platform. You also can access your account from a web browser via the CashFreely client dashboard.

Signing up does not require that you submit any of your actual credit card information or transaction data.

Instead, it’s built to make suggestions on things like which credit cards to add to your wallet and which card to use to pay for certain types of purchases based on the information that you voluntarily disclose.

You can do this on several existing apps, so you may be wondering what CashFreely’s differentiating factors are.

First, this is set up for those who are beginners to the credit card rewards game. It doesn’t assume you know anything. You’ll get helpful tips for learning both within the app and via regular emails.

And while CashFreely is upfront that it makes money from affiliate relationships, it also touts transparent analysis of credit cards with no guarantee of making any money off your use of the app.

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This is in contrast to many of the tools you find on the internet for picking a credit card. Not all of them are always completely transparent about their motives. Sometimes a website will point you in the direction of certain cards because of an affiliate relationship.

Note: Team Clark always strives for transparent analysis with its credit card content.


Setting Up CashFreely: Walking Through My Experience

For the purposes of this review, I downloaded the CashFreely app on an Apple device and also accessed the client dashboard via the CashFreely website on a web browser on my computer.

Let’s walk through how to set things up, and I’ll give you some insight into what I experienced in my few days of using the app.

Setting Things Up

Upon downloading the app, you’ll be prompted to create a user account.

This requires an email address (which you’ll later be asked to verify) and a unique password. It does ask for a first and last name, but you’re not necessarily required to give your real one.

CashFreely sign up

And, as I mentioned earlier, there is never a request for your credit card number or card login information.

Next, you’ll be asked to classify yourself as either “beginner” or “advanced” when it comes to credit card rewards. If you select beginner, you’ll get walked through the process of setting things up with explanations along the way. If you select advanced, you’ll move past all of that and can access the app’s tools more quickly.

You’ll then have the option to set things up for one user or two users. The latter is good for households that have a blended collection of credit cards. You’ll also be prompted to designate whether you’re a personal or business user. This is to curate the credit card recommendations, as small business owners can gain access to business credit cards.

The next prompt will ask for the names of your existing credit cards and some basic information such as when you signed up for them. This will help the app build a rewards profile for you and also track your welcome bonus and annual fee deadlines.

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CashFreely add card screen

Once all of your cards are added and assigned to a user, you’re ready to use the tools.

My Experience

After I signed up and added a few of my credit cards to the account, I was able to poke around the app and website to see what the CashFreely tools have to offer.

Some highlights include:

  • Received recommendations for which of my credit cards to use for three spending categories: dining, gas and groceries
  • Organized all of my key dates for annual fee renewals (and it would have included welcome bonuses if I had any active)
  • Gave a recommendation for “best cards” for my next credit card based on the cards already in my wallet
  • Told me when I was “ready” for my next rewards card based on welcome bonus data and my status with things like the “Chase 5/24″ rule
  • Tallied the amount of cash I had earned based on welcome bonus data on the cards I have

I also want to give you a sneak peek at what some of these screens might look like for you. Below is a look at the dashboard as displayed on my computer.

CashFreely web dashboard

And here’s a sample recommendation for using my credit cards based on purchase type. It correctly suggested that I use the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express for my next purchase at the gas pump.

CashFreely gas rewards

4 Things To Know About Using CashFreely

After several days of poking around this app, I have assembled a list of things that you’ll likely want to know about before you decide on signing up.

1. Why It Is Free: Understanding How CashFreely Is Compensated

If you’re like me, you might be slightly skeptical of a company that wants to offer you a service completely free of charge. What’s in it for them?

I had some concerns about this with CashFreely, but the site and app are actually very upfront about the company’s process for keeping things free for users.

Like many sites and resources, CashFreely receives compensation for leading consumers to apply for select credit cards. In other words, this is a commission-based business that doesn’t require consumers to become customers. It just asks nicely.

When I completed the sign-up process on the app, I got the letter you see below from CashFreely’s founder, explaining the business philosophy.

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CashFreely final thoughts
In-app note from CashFreely

2. It Gives Suggestions on “Best Cards” To Apply For

CashFreely makes money on credit card referrals. So it makes sense that recommending that you apply for a new credit card would be a prominent feature on the website.

And while it’s up to you to decide whether you actually need a new credit card, generally speaking, the recommendations do appear to be accurate in terms of taking advantage of welcome bonuses and filling gaps in the rewards you could earn in certain categories.

Keep in mind that you can completely ignore these offers and still get some use out of the app.

3. It Helps Optimize Credit Card Usage by Spending Category

This app will help you determine the best credit card to use for certain types of purchases.

Making sure you use the right credit card for specific purchases is a key part of maximizing credit card rewards.

This app will tell you which card to use for the following types of purchases:

  • gas
  • dining
  • groceries

If you’re looking for an app with a little more robust tracking system that includes more spending categories, you may want to check out CardPointers.

4. You’re Getting More Than Credit Card Tracking

When I signed up for this app, I expected to get lots of information on optimizing my credit card rewards. What I didn’t expect was all of the additional free financial resources that come along with it.

The app has an entire tab dedicated to free resources from CashFreely, which includes: instructional videos for beginners, blog posts, an FAQ section and a way to email the founder directly with questions or concerns.

In addition to resources available on the app and via the web dashboard, I also received a free email course from CashFreely with tips on credit card rewards basics and a road map for getting the most out of my rewards card.

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Here’s a snippet from one of these emails.


Final Thoughts: Is This for You?

Now that you’ve seen my experience and hopefully had some ofyour questions answered, you’re probably trying to decide if CashFreely is for you.

My definitive professional opinion is: Maybe.

If you’re already a rewards credit card whiz, there’s a good chance that you’ve already taken many of the steps this app walks you through or have an app that does many of these things for you.

And if you’re a travel credit card user, there’s not much here for you. (Though you may want to check out TravelFreely, which is an app run by the same group.)

But if you’re just getting started with cash back credit cards or feel like you’ve been failing at maximizing rewards opportunities, this could be a great resource for getting better returns. And give credit where it’s due: This app also does a good job of giving free advice about things like monitoring your credit score and taking action to keep your finances in good shape.

Given that it’s completely free and requires no more personal information than your name (or alias)and an email address, giving this a test drive is a low-risk proposition with a relatively small time investment.

If you think you may be interested, you probably should download it and check it out.

Have you tried an app like CashFreely before? We’d love to hear about your experience in the Clark.com community.

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